The government has announced plans to ban touts from selling tickets to a number of "crown jewel" sporting events as part of a package of measures designed to improve the ticketing market.

Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe has also called upon the ticketing and events industries to develop more innovative approaches to cut down on the number of tickets being bought up by touts for plays, concerts and sports fixtures. Although measures already exist to protect consumers, the government has launched a consultation to gather views on ways to improve the ticketing market, including the proposed introduction of a voluntary agreement prohibiting the sale of tickets for high-profile events on the secondary market.

The list of 'crown jewel' events is expected to be similar, although not necessarily, identical to the list of events that must be made available for broadcast on free-to-air television, such as sporting world cups and the Grand National. Other issues addressed by the consultation include whether the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) is doing enough to protect consumers, and if additional security measures should be introduced, such as individual name printing on tickets as adopted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for this year's ICC World Twenty20.

In addition, the government is encouraging football clubs to introduce ticketing exchanges for those who wish to sell tickets they can no longer use. The resale of football tickets is currently illegal, although official exchanges are allowed. Sutcliffe said: "Real efforts are being made by some event organisers to thwart the touts and ensure that as many tickets as possible go straight to real fans. But most of the time tickets go to whoever is quickest online on the day they go on sale – and too much of the time that is touts who simply want to resell at a profit.

"The industry now needs to quickly build on these successful new approaches and ensure they become much more widespread. An honest and transparent resale market can be beneficial; it provides fans with an opportunity to buy tickets for sold-out events or sell tickets they can no longer use." Both the ECB and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) have been quick to welcome the government's proposals. David Collier, ECB chief executive, said: "The ECB has previously proposed to the secondary market that they work with us to prevent touting abuses at the very top matches.

"Unfortunately they have not agreed. We hope the clear statement of intent from the DCMS makes them reconsider their actions” Francis Baron, RFU chief executive, added: "This new consultation is a good start in developing our partnership with Government and we will demonstrate to them all of the positive work we have done to date aimed at reducing the black market for England international tickets."